Preparing an Annotated Bibliography

This guide is intended to help students with the task of preparing an annotated bibliography.

What is an annotated bibliography?

As a student, you are familiar with the requirement of a bibliography or works cited page for a research paper. All books, magazine, newspaper, and journal articles, and websites you consult for information on your topic, as well as any interviews, emails, or other communications you conduct, must be documented in your works cited or bibliography. An annotated bibliography is a list of works with annotations, or brief analytical descriptions, for each item in the list. Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary defines an annotation as "a note added by way of comment or explanation"1. The accuracy of the annotations proves to your instructor that you have carefully read and assessed the works and placed them in context among other works that you have chosen to annotate.

What is the purpose of an annotated bibliography?

An annotated bibliography can be thought of as an early step in the process of writing a research paper. It is a way to show your audience that you have made an effort to learn about the books, articles, and other sources already written on your topic. A well-written and carefully composed annotated bibliography conveys to your professor that you have accomplished the following:

One researched your topic and selected appropriate sources on the topic

Two read each source you have chosen to include in the annotated bibliography

Three described and analyzed each source briefly and effectively

What is the process of writing an annotated bibliography?

One Do research and select sources. Do not include encyclopedias in your annotated bibliography, but consult them to gather background information on a topic that is new or unfamiliar to you. Careful selection of sources will help you create an effective and high-quality annotated bibliography. You can always get help with research from a reference librarian at the City Tech library.

Two Read the sources you have selected, taking notes that will help you evaluate it. Pay attention to the scope of the work and its intended audience, as well as the author's viewpoint and credentials on the topic. Consider the timeliness of the source. You may decide to eliminate some and may need to return to the research step to find new, more appropriate sources.

Three Using MLA style, cite each source. Put the list of sources in an alphabetical or chronological list, depending on what your professor requires. Consult the MLA guide on the library website for help with MLA style.

Four Using a concise and analytical writing style, describe and analyze the sources you select. Do not just repeat the information from the abstract or introduction. Offer enough summary so that the reader is familiar with the most important ideas, and be sure to include some analysis of the work. Combining description and evaluation of the source in a concise way should be your goal.

Sample entry for a book using MLA format

Florida, Richard. Who's Your City? How the Creative Economy is Making Where to Live the Most Important Decision of Your Life. New York: Basic Books, 2008.

Florida's latest contribution to his body of work on the creative economy focuses on how the place where we choose to live matters in our working lives and in our overall happiness. Because of globalization, he argues, creative and innovative professional work is increasingly consolidated in a relative handful of geographic locations worldwide; he does not believe that enhanced electronic communications have made the importance of place obsolete. Florida does not spend much time considering members of the working population who cannot afford to choose to relocate to places where innovation fuels economic growth, instead focusing his analysis on the professional-level creative class who are privileged enough to be mobile. Florida takes the unusual step of including a "how-to" or "self-help" section, offering readers a framework on which to analyze their own lives to determine what place is best for both their careers and their overall happiness. The book concludes with appendices providing demographic and economic data on various metropolitan regions and a "Place Finder" worksheet for readers to rank various criteria to determine their own best place to live and work.

Sample entry for an article using MLA format

Post-industrial urban and regional economies have shifted from the production of tangible goods to the production of ideas, knowledge, and other valuable products of intellectual labor. Currid explores the roles that producers of arts and culture play in economic development of cities and urban regions, both as an amenity that the creative professional classes demand from their environments, and as legitimate and important contributors to economic development. The paper relies on interviews with cultural producers to make the argument that cultural production (employment in the arts) can be as vital to a city's economy as financial sector employment. Through her interviews, the author shows that the growth of the creative economy is dependent on informal networks of cultural producers; there is very little that is systematic, government-regulated, or otherwise institutionalized, unlike most other economic sectors. This article explores how creative industries contribute towards economic development of cities. It helps complete the picture of new directions in urban economic development, but the ideas here would be most useful placed in context of other economic development tools.

Internet Resources

The following sites from other universities have excellent examples and explanations to help you prepare an annotated bibliography:

The Online Writing Lab at Purdue University offers a three-part guide on annotated bibliographies:

This annotated bibliography guide from the University of North Carolina provides a very strong explanation of various writing styles and different types of annotations. It also provides examples of annotated bibliography entries in MLA and APA style. For those seeking more help and examples, the guide concludes with a list of works consulted.